Israel attacked for ‘racist’ new laws
A HYDROELECTRIC dam has collapsed in south-eastern Laos, leaving an unknown number of people dead and hundreds missing.
Rescue efforts were yesterday under way at the site of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in Attapeu province.
The dam collapsed on Monday evening, releasing large amounts of water that swept away houses and made more than 6,600 people homeless.
It was constructed by a joint venture led by South Korean companies, with Thai and Lao partners.
The project was still under construction, KPL reported. It described the portion that collapsed as a “saddle dam”, which is an auxiliary dam used to hold water beyond what is held by the main dam.
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith “suspended the planned monthly meeting of the government for August and led his Cabinet members and other senior officials to Sanamxay (district) to monitor rescue and relief efforts being made for flood victims”, KPL said.
Many areas of Laos have recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains.
Provincial authorities have issued a call for emergency aid – clothing, food, drinking water, medicine, cash and other items – from the “party, government organisations, business community, officials, police and military forces and people of all strata”.
Laos, one of the poorest countries in Asia, has transitioned from communism to a market economy, but remains a singleparty state where freedoms are limited.
There is virtually no freedom of the press, and foreign reporters who visit operate under tight restrictions, limiting the flow of information.
“We do not have any formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing,” an official in Attapeu province told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Electricity from several hydroelectric dams provides a large share of Laos’ export earnings, with Thailand being a major buyer.
KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy project cost an estimated $1.02 billion (£777 million).
According to the website of the company that built and runs the dam, it is majority-owned by two South Korean companies, SK Engineering and Construction and Korea Western Power.
The Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Co of Thailand holds a 25 per cent stake, while the Lao Holding State Enterprise holds 24 per cent.
The dam was built to divert the Houay Makchanh, Xe-Namnoy and Xe-Pian rivers into reservoirs that feed into a 410-megawatt power plant designed to generate 1,879 gigawatts of power a year, with 90 per cent of the power being exported to Thailand and the remaining 10 per cent used locally.
The project is a 27-year concession and was due to begin operating in 2019, a year later than originally planned. Roughly 10,000 people live in the affected area, with most belonging to ethnic minorities.
The country’s president has attacked Israel over a controversial new law defining Israel as the nationstate of the Jewish people, and likened the legislation to Hitler’s obsession with racial purity.
Addressing MPs in Ankara, Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel “the world’s most Zionist, fascist, racist state”.
He said: “There’s no difference between Hitler’s obsession with a pure race and the understanding that these ancient lands are just for the Jews.”